Kudler Murasaki

A Kunoichi Tale
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-938808-74-6
Verlag: Stillpoint/Atalanta
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 226 Seiten

Reihe: Seasons of the Sword

The thrilling conclusion to Seasons of the Sword!

An easy mission promises to be Risuko's last

Kano Murasaki (called Risuko), Emi, and Toumi are accompanying a spoiled young noblewoman to her wedding. What should be a simple assignment-get the bride to the wedding, make sure she's properly dressed-is anything but.
Because someone wants the lady dead.
And because Risuko and her friends aren't just lady's maids. They are kunoichi.
Trained spies, assassins-and in this case, bodyguards.
The wedding-which Risuko herself negotiated at sword-point-has the potential to unite the most powerful clans in Japan under a single banner, ending over a century of bloodshed. And so Risuko must do everything she can to keep the brat of a princess safe and deliver her to her groom. Failure would mean death not only for the bride and her bodyguards. It might mean another hundred years of destruction for the whole empire.
Along the way, Risuko and her friends must confront hidden enemies and uncover who is behind the plot. She must face the ghosts of her past to become, finally, herself.
Can Risuko survive?

Autoren/Hrsg.

Kudler, David

Leseproben

Glossary

The straight line over some vowels (for example, o or a) is called a macron.

It indicates that the vowel should be given a longer sound.

-ane — older sister

-ani — older brother

-chan — child

-ko — ending meaning that the word is a girl’s name or nickname

-kun — child, boy

-sama — my lord or lord (honorific)

-san — sir, miss, or ma’am (honorific)

-senpai — senior student (honorific)

Ai, minha cabeca! (Portuguese) — Oh, my head!

Amor é um fogo que arde sem se ver, é ferida que doi, e não se sente. (Portuguese) — “Love is a fire that burns unseen, a wound that aches yet isn’t felt.” — Luis de Camões

anata — A term of endearment and affection, usually used between spouses or lovers, or by a servant or retainer to a superior with whom they have a close, friendly relationship (literally, a formal form of the pronoun “you”)

Ane-ue — Older Sister (formal, archaic)

baesinja (Korean) — traitor

baka, baka yaro — idiot, complete idiot (offensive)

baka ama — stupid woman (offensive)

bakufu — the military government headed by the shogun

banzai/banzai no kotobuki — Ten thousand (years of life)

Benten — Goddess of Beauty and Art (also known as Benzai-ten); one of the Seven Gods of Luck

Bishamon — God of Strength and War; one of the Seven Gods of Luck

biwa — a stringed instrument with a round body and a short neck, similar to a lute

busu — ugly person, usually used for women (offensive)

bushido — The Way of the Warrior; the Zen Buddhist samurai code

byeong-shin (Korean) — idiot (offensive)

che — interjection (not particularly offensive)

daikon — a large, white, mild radish

daimyo — lord (roughly equivalent to an English duke or earl)

daruma — duty, fate; from the Sanskrit word dharma

Doitashimashite — You’re welcome (in answer to thanks)

domo arigato — thank you very much

Fukurokuju — God of Wisdom; one of the Seven Gods of Luck

furisode — kimono with long, trailing sleeves, traditionally worn by unmarried women

genmaicha — green tea flavored with toasted rice

geta — sandals with high wooden soles

go — a Chinese game of strategy

go — actions (in Buddhism, the spiritual weight of your actions — karma — determines your next life)

gomenasai — I am sorry; also said in response to another’s formal apology

hai — yes

hakama — wide, skirt-like trousers

hanyak (Korean) — herbal medicine

harai-gushi — a wand with strips of white paper attached at one end, used for purification (harai) in Shino ceremonies

hiragana — phonetic script used for native Japanese words for which there are no kanji

Hotei — God of Laughter; one of the Seven Gods of Luck

ichi — the number one

Ikko-ikki — During the Civil War era, groups of rebel peasants, frequently led by Buddhist monks

Imoto — Younger sister

jinmaku — circular, curtained enclosure used in military camps

Jizo-bosatsu — the Buddhist saint (boddhisatva) of lost children; he is often portrayed with a blank face and large sleeves in which he protects the children

ju — the number ten

kami — spirit or god; Shinto tradition says there are eight million, but that figure is meant simply to suggest “beyond number”

kanji — Chinese ideograms; over three thousand of these non-phonetic characters are widely used in Japanese writing

katakana — phonetic script used for most foreign words and for emphasis

(similar to italics in English)

katana — a samurai’s long, curved sword

kimchee (Korean) — pickled cabbage, often spicy

kitsune — a mischievous nine-tailed fox spirit

koshukin — gold coin, worth fifty silver monme or about 1000lbs (450 kg) of rice, enough to feed four people for a year

koto — a long, plucked stringed musical instrument, like a zither

ku or kyu — the number nine

kudzu — Arrowroot, a fast-growing vine

kumiho (Korean) — mischievous fox spirit (similar to a kitsune)

kunoichi — “nine in one”; a special kind of woman trained as an assassin, bodyguard, or spy

Kwan-um (Korean) — the Buddhist saint (boddhisatva) of mercy and beauty; called Kwan-yin in China and Kannon in Japan

Mãe de Deus (Portuguese) — interjection meaning “Mother of God”

matcha — powdered green tea

miko — shrine maidens; young women who assist at Shinto festivals and ceremonies

mizutaki — a hot-pot dish made with fish, chicken, or some other meat

Mochizuki — “full moon”; the clan of Lady Chiyome’s late husband

mogusa — mugwort; formed into pellets and burned (with the lit end away from the flesh) as a stimulant and as a way to celebrate children’s aging during the New Year festival

mon — the emblem of a noble house (like the European coat of arms)

monme — silver coin worth approximately twenty pounds (9 kg) of rice

moshi wake gozaimasen — “I am terribly sorry” (formal)

Mukashi, mukashi — “Long, long ago” (traditional beginning to Japanese folktales, similar to “Once upon a time”)

Musume-san — Daughter (formal)

natto — fermented beans

não faz mal (Portuguese) — That’s all right (literally, “It doesn’t hurt”)

no — preposition meaning of, in, or from

no oka-san — mother of; used in the sense of “Mrs. [Family Name]”

obi — sash

ohayo-gozaimasu — Good morning

Oka-san — Mother

oni — ogre, monster

One-san — Oldest Sister

Oni-san — Oldest Brother

opa (Portuguese) — oops

Ototo-kun — Little Brother

Oto-san — Father

owari — The End (formal, said or written at the end of a story, book, or film)

oyasumi nasai — Good night

ronin — a disgraced, master-less samurai

Risuko — Squirrel (a girl’s name or nickname)

sakaki — an evergreen, small-leafed tree used in many Shinto rituals

sakura — a cherry tree; by extension, cherry blossoms

samisen — a long-necked, five-stringed instrument, similar to a guitar or banjo

sarabada — farewell (archaic, formal)

sayonara — farewell; said on taking one’s leave for the last time or for a very long time (formal)

senhora (Portuguese)...